The present invention relates to an elevator car structure having upper and lower cars vertically disposed in a double decked elevator.
In a conventional double decked elevator, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a car structure comprises upper and lower cars 1 and 2 vertically separated from each other and supported by a rectangular frame 3. The frame 3 is hung from a main rope 4 at the center of an upper beam 5 of the frame 3 and is vertically moved by an unillustrated traction machine to guide the upper and lower cars 1 and 2 to the respective floors along unillustrated guide rails by respective rollers 6 disposed at each corner of the car frame 3. In an elevator of this type, passengers can be simultaneously conveyed by the upper and lower cars 1 and 2, in a condition in which the same horizontal space is required as in the conventional elevator. Accordingly, the number of passengers conveyed at any given time can be increased so that the number of elevators can be reduced.
However, since the upper car 1 is separated from the lower car 2, the passengers within the upper and lower cars 1 and 2 cannot directly communicate with each other. Furthermore, the times during which passengers enter and exit the upper and lower cars are not always in agreement with each other. Accordingly, when the door of either the upper or lower cars closes earlier than the door of the other car, the passengers in the one car must stand in a closed car waiting for the elevator to proceed, causing a certain anxiety brought on by an isolated feeling.
Further, even when it is not required by the passengers in one car to stop at a given floor, the one car must stop at that floor when passengers in the other car register a call for that floor. Therefore, in a conventional double decked elevator, an indicator is disposed within each car for communicating the calls to the passengers in the upper and lower cars, which however is insufficient to remove an anxiety arisen due to the passengers feeling isolated.